Palmetto Youth Center’s Reggie Bellamy unseats incumbent Charles Smith in commission race

Reggie Bellamy, a high school basketball coach and executive director of the Palmetto Youth Center, defeated incumbent Charles Smith for the Democratic nomination for the Manatee County Commission District 2 seat.

Bellamy, the underdog in the Democratic race, unseated Smith by 180 votes, with 52.16 percent of the vote, according to election results. In total, Bellamy received 2,178 votes and Smith had 1,998.

The 46-year-old Bellamy is the executive director of the Palmetto Youth Center who Smith accused of being too busy for his duties and believed he was being paid tax dollars for hours he hadn’t worked. The center’s board of directors backed Bellamy after the accusations.

Bellamy said he was in a meeting focusing on opportunities for youth in the community when the results started to come in. He said when they realized he was the winner, they stopped and prayed.

“It’s obvious the community wanted the leadership in District 2 to go in a different direction,” Bellamy said after the victory. “I’m honored and humbled but a lot of work needs to be done to make sure our community becomes better and stronger together.”

He said that while he was excited at the outcome, “We still have another hurdle.”

The district covers portions of the cities of Bradenton, Palmetto and Ellenton on either side of the Manatee River.

Bellamy will square off with Dimitrie Denis, the only Republican running for the District 2 spot, in the general election on Nov. 6.

Voter turnout across several Florida counties highly surpassed the last midterm election in 2014, with some beating turnout in 2016, a presidential year.

Manatee County was no exception.

In the 2014 election, voter turnout in the county came in at 20.6 percent. During the 2016 primary, it was 26.9 percent, according to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections.

And by the time polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, both of those years had been beaten with 77,672 votes (32.31 percent) had been cast across the county among early voting, mail-in ballots and election day turnout.

District 4

Even before the final votes were tallied, the Republican winner of the District 4 county commission seat was clear.

Misty Servia beat Laurie Galle and Mark Black by claiming more than 55 percent of the vote with 2,668 ballots cast with her name. Black came in second with 1,161 votes. Galle was third with 978.

Servia celebrated the win with a group of supporters, friends and family at the Longhorn Steakhouse at 4502 14th St West.

“I’m really thrilled with the results tonight. It’s been a huge win and I attribute it to the strong campaign that we’ve run,” Servia said.

The district covers southern portions of the county, including the Whitfield and Bayshore Gardens neighborhoods, between 34th Street West and Lockwood Ridge Road.

In the district, the three Republicans campaigned for the seat after commissioner Robin DiSabatino announced that she would not seek a third term this year. DiSabatino, who was first elected in 2010, endorsed Servia.

Servia’s biggest priority, like many candidates throughout the county, is infrastructure.

“One of the biggest priorities is the aging infrastructure and the need to replace old pipes, streets and sidewalks, and provide sidewalks where there were never any built,” Servia told the Bradenton Herald before the primary. “I think that’s the biggest concern. There needs to be upgrades.”

She will now face Democrat Melton H. Little, a lawyer with Palmetto-based firm Kallins, Little & Delgado.

District 6

The at-large seat was won by incumbent Carol Whitmore, who beat challenger James Satcher by 4,295 votes. Overall, Whitmore received 21,274 votes and Satcher got 16,979.

“My next step is just to continue getting my message out and what I stand for,” Whitmore said. “And my platform, which has always been to work for the community and get that bridge moving forward no matter where it’s going to be, to get it funded.

“And I think I’m a steady hand on the commission. Sometimes it can be contentious, and I try to stay even and keep the county moving forward.”

Whitmore ended her statement by congratulating all the candidates who won.

“I look forward to working with everyone and thank the candidates for stepping up and running for their community because it’s not easy.”

The commissioner will face no-party affiliate Candace Luther, a dental hygienist.

Follow Samantha Putterman on Twitter @samputterman

This story was originally published August 28, 2018 at 8:36 PM.